For weeks, I had planned to go scouting for deer in the local mountains, but I had the pull of going after coyotes and pigs at the last minute. I knew it was early to scout for deer and I wanted to focus my efforts later in Summer. So, I changed my plans, drove through the early morning to a spot I had almost written off due to people pressure and lack of food for the pigs. Little did I know how great of a decision that would turn out to be.
After a decent hike in, I desperately searched for pig sign, but saw only coyote and raccoon tracks. The ground was hard, with no good vegetation and it had become overgrown. As I hiked further, I found a spot with piles of coyote scat. Piles! I set up near where I thought they might go, behind some trees with bushes behind me concealing my silhouette. I hadn’t been in my seat for two minutes when two healthy coyotes started toward me. They spotted me at 35 yards as I drew back and they disappeared into the undergrowth. A few minutes later there they were again, trying to figure me out. I opted to capture some footage (see the main photo above from a screen grab) because these coyotes were very dark and I wanted verification that they were indeed there.
After I devoured my two sandwiches by 8:00 AM, I sat for another hour of no action. I began field testing some bushcraft style knives and then decided on a walkabout. After a short walk, I found some highly used areas littered with even more coyote scat. I found a solid trail that led into the dense brush and knew I had located a highway. The wind changed, so I moved to where I could see three trails while being brushed in. The temperature was cool, with a slight breeze and a pillowy mist blanketing down. I started dozing off due to the temperature going from cool to warm and that’s when I spotted them at 80 yards. Ten pigs marching! A sow, young boar and eight 40 lb. piglets moving to a food source I had overlooked at a high rate of speed. I grabbed my bow and stalked to within 35 yards, but they were in the brush, squealing and grunting with no way to get a clean shot off. It was exciting and thrilling to see they were still in the area (it’s been 3 years since I’ve been to this spot). My plan for this location was that if I didn’t see pigs or any sign, I wasn’t coming back to this spot. After I set up for an hour near where I had last seen them, I started looking for sign. I noticed ALL of the pig tracks were hidden inside the tree line and that was why I hadn’t found tracks. They were using a trail I had seen them use before, but it kept them close to the far edge. Backtracking, I found exactly where they had come in and found a spot to hunt them next time. I cannot wait to get another pig in my freezer!
Valuable lessons were learned on this hunt. I slowed down and didn’t rush to get out of the area. I looked at the trails, vegetation, and trusted the wind. If the wind changed, I adjusted right away. Not only will I be back to this spot, I think I will plan on hunting it again before it gets really hot. If you get a chance to go scouting or hunting, make it an adventure and remember to take your time. Life is too short to rush through a hunt just to get to the next best thing. That hunt IS the best thing at that very moment. Live it, breathe it and most of all enjoy it!
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